Thermoformed containers suitable for holding fresh food or produce are in common use. Traditionally, these have consisted of a base with a lid, the lid being hinged to the base or separate therefrom. In order to secure the lid to the base, these known containers require one or more labels to be adhered to both the lid and the base in a “wrap around” fashion. In high output operations, there is a problem in applying a “wrap around” (non-flat) label because automated equipment is generally designed for flat label application.
In addition, labels applied to containers of this type often carry a barcode, usually along with other information. There can be problems in scanning barcodes on non-flat labels. Consequently, from this point of view, a flat label would be preferred.
It is an object of the present invention, at least in some embodiments, to provide a container configuration which permits flat application of labels.
More recently, a dual hinged lid container has been devised. Reference is made to Australian patent No 2003234951. The specification of this patent discloses a container having a lid provided in two parts, each part being hinged to the base. When both lids are closed, there is available a generally flat area across the lid edges in the center of the container top to permit a flat label to be applied. The flat label so applied can act as a tamper evident seal.
While this prior art dual hinged lidded container can work admirably in many applications, there are instances where it is undesirable to apply a label across a join in the center of a container lid in this manner. For example, the label may obstruct a consumer's view of contents of the container, especially where there is a relatively high label-to-lid area ratio. As another example, on larger containers, a regular sized label may prove inadequate to give a tamper evident seal. If the size of the label were to be increased, this would add to label cost and may prove uneconomical. In other instances, it may be desirable to provide a container with increased security.
It is an object of the present invention, at least in some embodiments, to alleviate some or all of these concerns or, at the least, to provide a useful alternative which is appropriate for containers of different shapes and sizes.